hannah's garden

Let's go fly a kite

2006-10-30T18:37:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
This weekend I had my 3 and 8 year old cousins stay and was reminded of the joy of free entertainment. We went for a walk to the park, (it's currently a local council clean-up where you can get rid of larger items without paying to drive them to the tip - and often good stuff is thrown out eg furniture, kitchenware, garden tools) as we walked past a neighbours home we saw a kite in a box out for the clean-up. All that was required was undoing a large know (which in itself was satisfying) and I had an as new kite to fly.

I spent the next half hour or so teaching my cousins how to fly the kite. The eight year old picked it up straight away and wouldn't let me have a go, and the 3 year old had a go but loved just watching it, saying over and over (and over) again - it's beautiful!

It got annoying, it's like a broken record, but it reminded me that it is beautiful, that a little piece of plastic and string put together in the right way can fly on the slightest breeze. It was beautiful, fun, peaceful and restoring. So many so called "leisure" activities in society require so much energy and are draining, shopping being the worst, computer/video games, bowling, going out etc. None of them are bad things, but they leave you feeling tired and they definately leave your wallet feeling empty. I love spending time just being in the garden. Watching the willy wagtail dance around, looking at the shape of clouds, drinking a cup of tea (and then another with a good friend, listening to waves at the beach. None of which cost me more than a few cents, and all of which make me feel fully human and fully alive.

Newspaper seedling pots

2006-02-20T16:59:00.000-08:00

This is a great idea I found, not only is it recycling, but your plants will grow better because they don't get transplanted, which often sends a plant into shock. I haven't tried it, but I have seen similar, and they are great. I will try soon and let everyone know how it goes.

Currently I am using 2L plastic Milk bottles with the tops and bottoms cut off, fill with soil and plant either a seed or seedling in them, then when they have grown more, transplant into the ground. The plastic can remain around them for some time as a protection and can then slide off to be reused as there is no base. This works really well for me.

It's easy to make your own biodegradable seedling pots. Simply spread open a standard sheet of black-and-white newspaper, then lay a 1¼ -inch-diameter dowel along one edge of the paper.

Roll the paper and dowel one turn, then dab a small amount of flour-and-water paste on the rolled portion of the paper. Continue to roll the dowel to within 3 inches of the end of the paper, then apply more paste in a zigzag pattern to this remaining area and finish rolling. Remove the dowel and allow the paper to dry overnight. The next day, when the paper is dry, cut the tube into 3-inch lengths. When you're ready to start sowing, stand the open-ended cylinders upright inside a planting tray or flat, fill each with seed-starting mix, then plant your seeds.

When it's time to transplant, place the pots right in the garden—the paper will decompose. (Be sure to cover the entire paper pot with soil so that the paper doesn't act as a wick, drawing moisture away from the seedling roots.)

Grandma's Apron

2006-02-20T16:08:00.000-08:00

Hi, I got sent this the other day and loved it, I remember dressing up in mum's apron to cook, because otherwise we would be covered in food from head to toe. A couple of christmases ago Mum gave me my own apron, and my cousins fight over wearing it when they come to visit.

The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a holder for removing hot pans from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken-coop the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids. And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled it carried out the hulls. In the fall the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.

Welcome to the garden

2006-02-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone.
Welcome to the garden. Why Garden? I guess because a garden is a place where things grow and produce fruit.

I think ideas can grow in a garden, something natural, a place that's peaceful and refreshing. I find my garden a place where I can go at the end of a stressful day and interact with something tangible and yet mysterious. The mystery of a seed, that can grow into a tree to provide shade, or a plant to provide nutrients and joy. The reality of digging and planting and just being outside.
My hope is that people who read my Blog will be refreshed, challenged to grow and inspired to change and to love life.

This is a place where my friends can see what I have been up to in the garden and out of it. Hopefully it will be accompanied by photos of my life and my garden where I am attempting to provide at least part of my food. Maybe you'll be inspired to try and grow something as well.